rank Wills died on a Wednesday, September 27, 2000.  Everyone should know of this mans life and death, even those that have no idea what he did on a warm June night in 1972.  That's when it happened, that's when he called the Washington DC Police.  Bob Woodward called it, "One of the most important phone calls in American History." 

Wills was a twenty-four year old security guard at the Watergate Hotel.  While doing his rounds on that night in June, he discovered a piece of electrical tape that kept the stairway door to the garage from locking.  This wasn't uncommon to him.  People didn't like having to sign out of the Watergate to get down to their cars.  Usually Frank would find chairs and other objects propping that door open, but this was the first time he'd found tape.  He ripped it off and put it in his pocket, then continued with his rounds.  A Short time passed before he went back to re-check that door.  Taped again!  That's when the young man did his job.  Frank called the Police.  Sounds simple doesn't it?  He only did what he was hired to do, right?  Well, so were the five men upstairs in the Democratic Headquarters, wearing suits and surgical gloves.  They were fixing a broken bug placed in one of the phones.  They were also photographing documents and searching files. 

Then, without warning, in walked the Washington DC Police with our man Frank Wills.  They caught all five of Nixon's assholes.  Wait, hold on a moment, I don't want to confuse anyone.  That last statement I made has been argued repeatedly, and I believe that it still is to this day.  No one knew for certain whether Nixon had five separate assholes, or if he'd been born as one extremely large one. 

After that moment, while investigating and prosecuting one cabinet member after another, Frank Wills was excluded.  They took his ball and ran with it.  Politicians became stars, reporters were instant heroes, and the one little man that did his job was ignored.  That eighty-dollar a week security guard, the young insignificant black man.  That didn't surprise me then and it wouldn't surprise me now.  Perhaps it was far too soon to say thank you. 

With those giant egos in full battle gear, do you think the name Frank Wills ever entered their minds?  Hell no!  Not for one moment.  So now it's come time to put truth back into its rightful place.  Frank Wills gave many politicians their illustrious careers.  Wills caused the downfall of more high-ranking public officials than any person in American History, with a single action.  That one phone call of his eventually took down the President of the United States. 

Dean, Halderman, Ehrlichman, and my personal favorite-G. Gordon Liddy, took the "caught walk" as well.  Gordon said many times, "If the President had wanted me to kill someone, I would have done it."  Afterward, these government criminals made money from their books and speaking engagements.  They became 'infamous in the most profitable way.  The press and media saw to it.  But who was looking out for Frank Wills? 

The only reward Frank received, was to play himself in the movie "All The Presidents Men."  Just hanging out with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman every night, laughing, drinking and telling stories.  Those must have been great times!  Yeah, sure they were.  I wonder if the two stars ever said hello to him?  And look at the money they were making from Wills one phone call. 

Frank spent the following years going from one job to job.  The police arrested him for shoplifting twice.  Once for a pen worth 98 cents, and once again for a pair of sneakers worth 12 dollars.  Frank was able to take his case as far as the Supreme Court, but fell short of his plea.  They awarded him Richmond County Prison for a period of one year. 

In 1990, he moved in with his mother Marge and took care of her.  She was in poor health.  Both of them lived on the 450 dollars she received monthly from social security.  Marge died in 1992.  Frank couldn't afford to bury his own mother, so he was forced to donate her body to science. 

He turned to making money as a handyman.  Not much though.  He stayed in the run down house where his mother died, with no electricity or running water.  But he still went on with it, and that's important.  Some people can't handle their future when it comes to them. 

Frank spent the last few months of his own life waiting patiently for death.  The hospital became his home.  Then finally, one night, his brain tumor beat him.  He was dead at 52. 

Frank Wills did not live his life fighting for a place in history.  He rarely spoke of Watergate.  But he was alive once, the number of times that anyone's allowed to do that.  With his one time he made a difference.  No one should ever forget that. 

So, when the big man stood up to judge him, he stared at Frank for a few moments.  Then he put the pen back in Frank's pocket and laced those sneakers to his feet.  God smiled, then he put an arm around Frank's shoulders.  "Welcome to heaven, man, you've done the best you could."